The Gustavus Women’s Rugby team plays a challenging game many are unfamiliar with. With rules such as the ball can only be passed backwards, it is no surprise the game can be described as organized chaos.

“It is the most bizarre sport I have ever seen, but in the best of ways,” Junior Biology major Megan Quirk said. She just joined the team this fall and recently played in her first game.

“All of a sudden one of my teammates came running from the field and said, ‘Megan, you’re in!’ I had absolutely no idea what I was doing but I loved every minute of it,” Quirk said.

Quirk, along with all the other new members of the team, will learn the rules and strategies of the game but more importantly the tradition behind it as well. Coach Charlie Johnson, who has been with the team since the spring of 2009, loves sharing the history of the sport.

“People have a preconceived notion about what the sport is. I think it’s much safer than American football. That’s without pads or helmets,” Johnson said.

American football can trace its roots back to early versions of rugby football. It all started in 1823 when William Webb Ellis picked up a soccer ball and ran with it at his school, Rugby. Many terms used in American football today come from rugby.

“You physically have to touch the ball to the ground in rugby to score, that’s where the term ‘touch down’ comes from,” Johnson said.

A “try” is the rugby equivalent of a touchdown. The extra point attempt in American football (PAT) derives from rugby: the point-after-try.

Like other sports, rugby requires players to push themselves in order to compete at a high level. The sport is unique because the Women’s Rugby team plays exactly the same as their male counterparts do.

“There is no difference between men and women’s rugby. By that I mean in hockey there’s no checking for women, tennis there are less sets, in basketball the ball is lighter, in volleyball the net isn’t as high, softball you have to pitch underhand, and in golf they have to tee off closer. When the men’s rugby team plays we take the same ball and play the same game,” Johnson said.

The team is very inclusive and anyone who is interested in joining is welcome to give it a shot. Junior Scandinavian Studies major Hannah Birkholz is in her fourth season and is one of two captains for the year.
“We have people who are all different shapes and sizes. Our team tends to be on the smaller side compared to other teams that we play. We make up for that in speed.” Birkholz said.

Speed is important in the game but strength is equally valued. The team is open to any females at Gustavus who want to try, regardless of their stature and current physical capabilities.

“Some people are self-conscious when they join and rugby helps them develop a better self image,” Birkholz said. “Anyone can play. You don’t need to have any prior experience, almost no one on the team has played before they joined.”

Fall season is the competitive season for Women’s Rugby. Spring season is a non-competitive learning season to teach new players the game and work on skills. The Women’s Rugby Team plays on Saturdays. Home games typically start between 11 and 1 and take place on the Rugby Pitch. Most fans stand as they watch the game.

Come out and support the team at their next home game on Saturday, October 17 as they take on Macalester College.